Protective jacket



June 12, 1952 4 W1A.PLUMMER PROTEQTIVE JACKET Filed Mroh 24, 1959INVENTOR.

600L759 #ZPLUMMEQ Patented June 12,

hie

3,038,558 PROTECTIVE JACKET Walter A. Plummet, North Hollywood, Calif.(3546 Crownrirlge Drive, Sherman Oaks, Califl) Filed Mar. 24, 1959, Ser.No. 801,656 7 Claims. (Cl. 184-16) This invention relates to protectivejackets and more particularly to an improved jacket formed essentiallyfrom artificial sheet sponge material having integrally attached theretoseam forming means by which the jacket may be held detachably assembledto an object sought to be protected.

The present invention comprises a sheet of resilient artificial spongematerial having a multiplicity of interconnected cells and is suitablefor use in close contact with objects sought to be protected either byreason of its spongy resilient character or by reason of a lubricant orother fluent material with which it may be charged, such fluent materialbeing dispensable therefrom in small quantities as required by objectsagainst which the material is held. The spongy jacket may be used aloneor in combination with an outer flexible impervious covering layerforming a part of the jacket, the spongy layer and its coveringpreferably being secured together to provide a unitary jacket.

Irrespective of its form, the jacket may be used for a great variety ofpurposes and in many diverse environments. For example, the spongymaterial, being soft, tough and resilient, provides an ideal surfaceprotector for manufactured parts while being stored and transported to aplace of use. For this purpose the material may have secured to itsopposite edges separable slide fastener means by which the spongymaterial can be quickly secured about and removed from the object to beprotected. In the case of mechanical parts it is sometimes desirable toprovide for lubrication over a long period of use. In such cases thespongy blanket may be saturated with lubricant and applied looselyagainst the parts in need of lubrication. When the lubricant-chargedblanket is exposed, it is desirable to prevent the adherence of dirt andother foreign matter as well as to safeguard the blanket against loss oflubricant to other objects exterior thereto. In such cases, the blanketmay be embraced in a fluid-tight manner by an imperviou covering immuneto attack by the lubricant, the spongy blanket being secured looselyagainst the interior surface of the impervious cover. This assembly ispreferably provided with slide fastener means by which the spongymaterial may e held in light contact with the parts to be lubricated.When so applied, the lubricant-charged Cells of the spongy materialretain the lubricant until the parts are in need of more lubricantwhereupon the lubricant tends to flow automatically by capillaryattaraction to the parts in need thereof. Alternatively, a service manmay compress the assembly from time to time by pressure applied to theexterior to dispense lubricant against the parts.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the preesnt inven tion to providean improved protective jacket from artificial spongy materialincorporating means for securing the same against surfaces in need ofprotection against abrasion, lubrication or both.

Another object of the invention is to provide an artificial spongy sheetadapted to be wrapped and temporarily secured in place about parts whilebeing stored and transported.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spongy wrapping having amultiplicity of interconnected cells adapted to be charged with alubricant and having means along its edges for holding thelubricant-charged material securely in place against parts in need oflubrication.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tubular protectivejacket having readily separable seam means by which the same can be heldassembled about parts. to be lubricated and including on the inner sideof the jacket a sponge-like lubricant retainer adapted to be chargedwith lubricant before the jacket is assembled thereto.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading thefollowing specification and claims and upon considering in connectiontherewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a. preferred embodiment of theinvention is illustrated:

FIGURE 1 is a view showing the protective jacket incorporating thepresent invention installed about a group of Bowden cables;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in perspective of the assemblyshown in FIGURE 1 and showing the jacket partially installed thereabout;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the assemblyshown in FIGURES 1 and 2;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary view of a table the legs of which are shownenclosed by a modified embodiment of the protective jacket provided bythis invention; and

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale of the modifiedjacket employed in FIGURE 4.

Referring more particularly to FIGURES 1 to 3, there is shown onepreferred embodiment of the invention, the jacket per so beingdesignated generally 10, This jacket includes an inner relatively thicklining 11 of artificial cellular sponge material formed from anelastomeric composition having as its base a suitable rubber or plasticmaterial. When used for the purpose of retaining a supply of either aliquid or semiliquid, thecells of spongy layer 11 are in communicationwith one another in order that the stored material may penetrate to andbe stored initially in all cells for dispensing as needed.

If the primary function of protective layer 11 is to provide a spongyresilient cushion to safeguard the object covered from abrasion,vibration, shock and the like, the individual cells need not be in freecommunication since, in such use, it is usually not desirable to chargethe cells with fluid, grease or other material. Techniques for formingfoam elastorneric materials with either closed or freely communicatingcells are well known to those skilled in I the artificial sponge art andit is to be understood that either type may be used depending upon theapplication needs.

An elongated strip of the spongy layer 11 is preferably secured tosuitable means for holding the same assembled to either a flat or curvedsurface. A particularly suitable mode of accomplishing this is to heatseal the webs of a pair of interfitting slide fastener tapes l2 and 13to 0ppcsed lateral edges of an impervious cover layer 14 for the spongymaterial. Protective covering 14 may be of any suitable flexibleimpervious material such as sheet rubber, sheet plastic, or the like.Sheet plastic is particularly suitable owing to its many desirablecharacteristics, the ease with which it is obtained and secured to theother components, and its cheapness. At the same time or in timedrelation with this assembly step, the edges 19, 19 of spongy layer 11are adhesively joined, heat fused or otherwise secured along thejuxtaposed surfaces 20, 20 of cover 14. Alternatively, the edges of thespongy material may be similarly bonded to the inner surfaces of the Webportions of tapes 12, 13.

The free edges of tapes 12 and 13 are provided with oppositely facinginterfitting complementally shaped detent elements readily and separablyengageable to form a fluid-tight seam 24 extending lengthwise of jacket16. Although these interlocking parts may be of any suitable form aparticularly strong and effective seam is obtained when tapes 12 and 13are provided longitudinally of their free edges with continuousinterfitting tongues and grooves having the configurations shown inFIGURE 3. Such tongues and grooves are most conveniently closed togetheror opened by means of a suitably formed manually-operated pull device ofknown construction having a pull tab 26 slidable lengthwise in a flangedretainer strip 27 extending lengthwise of the pull device. It will beunderstood that device 25 straddles and embraces the two interfittingedges of tapes 12 and 13, and is effective to open or close the samedepending upon the direction in which the device is pulled along theseam.

FIGURES 1 and 2 are illustrative of one specific application of thedescribed protective jacket. Thus, the group of Bowden cables 18comprising a plurality of individual Bowden units each including a stiffpower transmitting wire 30 are encased by a loosely fitting tubing 31 ofwell known construction and customarily formed by closely Wound spiralstripping or wire. There are many applications of these Bowden cables inwhich a group of cables are required extending through confined spacesnot easily accessible for servicing and inspection.

For proper trouble-free functioning such cables require adequate andperiodic lubrication. The jacket herein described meets this need in ahighly satisfactory manher. To this end, spongy liner 11 of the jacketis saturated with a suitable lubricant 33 in either liquid or semiliquidform. If there is more than one Bowden cable assembly to be enclosed andlubricated by a common jacket, the cables are preferably groupedtogether in sideby-side relation and so secured by ties at spacedintervals or by a spiral wrapping of cord or tape. Thereafter,lubricant-saturated jacket 10 is wrapped about the cables as pull device25 is operated to close the tongues and grooves of tapes 12 and 13 toform a fluid-tight seam 24 extending the full length of the jacket.Thereafter, the gaps between the cables at the opposite ends of thejacket are filled with suitable spongy packing material 35 after whichthe end rims of jacket 10 are contracted against packing 35 as byseveral turns of tape 36 thereby effectively securing the jacket inplace and preventing the escape of the lubricant. The circumference ofthe impervious outer covering 14 of the jacket should be adequate tohold lining 11 in firm contact with the parts to be lubricated. Shouldthere be a lubricant deficiency in any area, such deficiency isreplenished automatically by capillary action. Additionally, an operatormay apply light pressure periodically to the exterior of the jacket tofeed lubricant to the enclosed parts to safeguard against lubricantdeficiencies owing to lack of contact of layer 11 with the parts in needof lubricant.

It will also be recognized that the described jacket not only acts torelubricate the enclosed parts but effectively and thoroughly protectsthe same from contamination by dust, dirt and exterior contaminantsgenerally. The jacket also prevents loss of lubricant or thecontamination of articles and other objects adjacent the exterior of thecables.

It will be understood that the described jacket may be used to coverflat or curved surfaces without actually embracing the parts. In thiscase, the jacket may be formed substantially as described except thatthe peripheral edges are each provided with continuous strips of one ofthe fastener tapes 12 or 13. The other mating half of the tape may beappropriately secured about the edge of the article to be lubricated andin such position that the parts being lubricated will be in contact withthe spongy layer 11 when the jacket is in assembled position thereover.

In environments where the object to be lubricated is encased withinother housing means as, for example, within an engine crank case, itwill be unnecessary to employ the exterior cover 14. In these situationsslide fastener tapes 12 and 13 are heat sealed or otherwise secureddirectly to the opposite edges of spongy layer 11. One operatingenvironment illustrative of this mode of use is found in an internalcombustion engine. There it is desirable and beneficial to wrap theengine piston rods with spongy material 11 held in place by theinterlocked edges of tapes 12 and 13. The normal operation of the enginemaintains layer 11 saturated with lubricant at all times. This reservelubricant supply is particularly useful when starting the engine sincethe rapid and abrupt movement of the piston rod dislodges lubricant fromthe cells of layer 11 allowing the lubricant to flow along the rod intothe bearings immediately upon starting of the engine and before theregular lubricating system becomes effective.

Referring now to FIGURES 4 and 5, there is shown the referred toembodiment of the protective jacket lacking the exterior imperviouscovering, the components of the modified jacket being designated by thesame reference characters used in FIGURES 1 and 3 but distinguishedtherefrom by the addition of a prime. A particularly expedientapplication of this form of the invention in addtiion to that justreferred to is the covering of varnished and other finished surfaces offurniture and the like objects after manufacture and while beingdelivered to the place of use. For example, the legs of table 38 areshown snugly encased by jacket 1%, the width of the stripping used forspongy layer 11' being so selected that the jacket is stretched tautwhen seam 24 is closed. Such jackets are found to be highly effectiveand to cling tenaciously to the surface to which it is assembled andprevent chafing, scratching or other damage to the surfaces while instorage or in transit. Moreover, the jackets are quickly assembled anddisassembled from the furniture and are so inexpensive that they can bethrown away after a single use. However, the jackets are so durable thatthey can be reused repeatedly.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the described protectivejacket has many, many uses in addition to those referred to above andthat it provides a most useful, inexpensive and versatile protectivejacket.

While the particular protective jacket herein shown and disclosed indetail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing theadvantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination, a unitary one-piece protective spongedike jacketadapted to be detachably assembled as a unit about an elongated object,said jacket comprising an elongated strip of thick spongy elastomericmaterial having a multiplicity of cells in communication with oneanother and adapted to hold a charge of fluid and semi-fluid material,the opposite lateral edges of said strip having firmly secured theretoseam-forming flexible tapes provided with complemental interlockingelements cooperable when engaged to form a readily openable andrecloseable seam for holding said jacket assembled about an object andhaving cells of said spongy material on at least one surface of saidstrip ful-ly exposed.

2. A jacket as defined in claim 1 characterized in that the cells ofsaid spongy material are in limited communication with one another andadapted to form retaining reservoirs for fluid and semi-fluid materialswhich materials are slowly dispensable therefrom over a long period oftime without need for applying compressive pressure to said spongymaterial and being further characterrized in that said seamformtingflexible tapes are formed of plastic material.

3. A lubricant reservoir and dispensing device for application closelyadjacent surfaces to be lubricated, said device comprising a thicksheet-like blanket of soft artirficial spongy material having amultiplicity of interconnected cells adapted to be charged with and toretain a quantity of lubricant, and slide fastener tape means firmlysecured along edges of said sheet having detent means adapted tointerlock separably With similar detent means to secure said dsvice inan installed position with said lubricant-charged cells against surfacesin need of lubrication.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 characterized in the provision of animpervious flexible cover sheet coextensive With said spongy materialand positioned against one surface thereof, the edges of said coversheet adjacent said tape means being sealed thereto in fluid-tightrelation to provide a lubricant-tight tubular device embracing theobject to be lubricated.

5. A removable jacket and lubricator for detachable assembly aboutcomponents having need for lubrication over a long period of time, saidjacket comprising an elongated strip of impervious flexible materialimmune to the presence of a lubricant, artificial spongy materialsecured to the inner side of said jacket, flexible slide fastener tapessecured along at least one pair of opposed lateral edges of said strip,said tapes having complementally shaped interlocking detent meansadapted to mate to form a fluid-tight seam and cooperating to hold saidjacket snugly assembled about parts to be lubricated, said spongymaterial being adapted to be charged with lubricant and to retain thesame While releasing lubricant to the parts positioned thereagainstgradually and as needed to keep a supply of lubricant on said parts.

6. A protective jacket as defined in claim 1 characterized in that theelongated object enclosed thereby comprises a plurality of Bowden cablesheld grouped together longitudinally of one another, and in that saidjacket is proportioned when the seam thereof is closed to embrace saidcables snugly, and means for closing the opposite ends of said jacketclosely about the justaposed portions of said cables to hold a charge oflubricant confined substantially within said jacket.

7. That method of maintaining a plurality of cables and the likelubricated over a long service period which comprises charging a blanketof artificial sponge material having a multiplicity of interconnectedcells with lubricant, wrapping said blanket loosely about a confinedgroup of cables or the like, and securing an impervious flexible coversheet about the exterior of said spongy material in a fluid-tight mannerwithout applying compressive pressure to said lubricant-charged spongymaterial.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,577,630 Yerger Mar. 23, 1926 2,138,971 Keeler et al. Dec. 6, 19382,355,003 McCann Aug. 1, 1944 2,531,095 Williams Nov. 21, 1950 2,721,597Pitrella Oct. 25, 1955 2,759,617 Gauthier Aug. 21, 19 2,838,085 BeelerJune 10, 1958 2,872,960 Kolpin Feb. 10, 1959

